Device for establishing admittance and transport of cargo to and from a wind turbine construction above ground level

Abstract

A device for establishing admittance and transport of cargo to and from a wind turbine construction above ground level and having a part which can be raised and / or lowered by wires and winches located at ground level and connected with snatch blocks attached to a part so that it can be raised and / or lowered in relation to the construction. The part has a number of travelling crabs according to the numbers of winches and the travelling crabs are guided of the wires between the winches and the snatch blocks, and that the part with the travelling crabs is displaced upwards or downwards by the wires. Advantageously, the wires are used for both hoisting the part and as guide for the travelling crabs.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0001]1. Field of the Invention[0002]The present invention relates to a device for establishing admittance and transport of cargo to and from an above ground level wind turbine construction and comprising a part that can be raised and lowered and / or lifted relative to the wind turbine construction, said part comprising at least two synchronically driven winches with cables / wires located at ground level, and a number snatch blocks according to the numbers of winches to be attached to a part of the wind turbine construction above ground level, a number of travelling crabs according to the numbers of winches, the travelling crabs comprising at least a first upper wheel and a second lower wheel.[0003]2. Description of Related Art[0004]The need to be able to perform efficient and swift inspection of blades on wind turbines, or to be able to transport relatively heavy cargo from ground level or cargo arranged on lorries at ground level to the nacelle on wind tur...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0015]To ensure good stability of the device in use, the ratio between the extent of the device and facilities might be so aligned with the length of the travelling crabs, that the center of gravity of the platform is located between the first and the second wheel. This counteracts any risk of the part capsizing and losing its anchorage on the wires.

[0017]Hereby is achieved a considerably larger lifting capacity, as there is established an exchange which, for each extra track / extra interacting wire wheel in the snatch blocks and front wheel on the travelling crabs, reduces the necessary traction force from the synchronous driven winches by 50% for a relevant lift. However, this will demand that the length of the wires be accordingly longer, which will increase the time of transport between ground level and the nacelle, but not in a scale that is comparable with what a corresponding lifting with a mobile crane would be.

[0027]By the tiltable mounting of the crane arm on the yaw unit, it is achieved that it is possible to swing the device to a position above the nacelle itself and attach a burden to the crane arm in a manner that lifting of heavy items in oblique positions is avoided. This will provide for a considerable increase of security for the workers exchanging heavy parts in the nacelle.

[0028]As the crane arm, for space reasons, cannot be fixedly mounted in the nacelle during operation with the wind turbine, it will be necessary to transport it from the ground level where the wind turbine is located, and for that purpose, on each side of the free end of the crane arm wheels / travelling crabs guided and resting on the wires may be provided. This has the advantage that the wire is useable for transportation of the crane arrangement for attachment to construction members in the nacelle of the wind turbine, after the snatch block has been attached to the nacelle.

Problems solved by technology

Lifting of such large and heavy loads leads to the need for large, ground level, mobile crane units which are relatively expensive, whereby the costs of maintenance and repair work will be relatively large.

Furthermore, the use of mobile crane units is not optimal because the length of the extension arm (pole) leads to some instability during lifting of said heavy items.

However, such cranes leave the task of transporting heavy objects from a ground level to a level within the reach of the said cranes anchored in the nacelle.

The device is not suited for use in connection with inspection of blades mounted on a wind turbine.

This device is not suited for lifting heavy cargo, such as wind turbine blades, gearboxes for wind turbines, etc., but is solely suited for use in connection with manual inspection of wind turbine lades.

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